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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. race — the arms race
  6. shower — rain
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. race — a contest
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. capital — a city
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bat — the animal
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bass — low music
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. race — humankind
  20. capital — money
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bass — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com